Saturday, April 26, 2025

creatively speaking.... this week, two portrait drawings, and several sewing projects

 

I love a hexie shape, and doing EPP hexies. I saw a spiral set hexie block online (can't find it now) that intrigued me for rainbow scrap challenge. This one is all together, so I'll catch up with the colors from last few months, and then figure out how to put them in one quilt top. (of course it's done by hand)

For this week, I have two pencil line drawings to share, and two other sewing projects in progress

First the sewing projects... 

after looking at the red improv piece on the design wall this week I decided to make it larger and include more colors.  I made some red stars with turquoise this week, they are 4" star blocks
I had just enough of the center fabric for 5 2.5" squares, it's one of my faves but virtually used up now that I cut 5 centers from it
design and making stage is messy!

Got four made, one to go... then decide on which colors I want to add to the whole


I enlarged the pentagon shapes to make another bigger basket. You baste fabric around the paper with glue since you're leaving in the papers this time. I plan to hand embroider vines around the top before sewing the side seams rounding the basket. You make two units, and tuck one into the other so all edges are finished when bowl is done.
 Also gives it more stability. I plan to embroider just the inside pieces you see when the basket sits on a table
when cutting the shapes some fabric was wasted but I hate waste so I just overlapped them onto a batting scrap and sewed over them...
and it goes back into the parts dept for some other project... maybe a brooch? with some beads? 

the colors are so pretty, I forget how pretty pastels are in my reach for saturated colors

Drawing in the art journal

I like these erasers... I want to practice drawing to develop my skills so I need good tools

these will smear or shade pencil lines a bit


AND different pencils have different hardness

a place to draw and paint
I love B & W photos from the 1920's and loved this cheeky pose... so here goes!
My attempt to capture a gesture photo

thought I would paint it but changed my mind, so the washi tape wasn't needed, shrug...
what's not right... something in the mouth proportion this time. LALAMO (live and learn and move on)
next, a man. I find them harder to draw plus a hand? yikes! 
top my drawing, inspiration photo copy tucked beneath
I print out a photo for inspiration, and tuck the loose copy next to my drawing and turn the page
I did use a tombow fudenesco pen for brows and eye liner
I like the shadows around his hair line. 

Drawing teaches me to SEE.  You must look closely for details that make a unique face, n'est pas?

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Thursday, April 24, 2025

I Like Thursday # 448 blossoms, messy desks, shows, a journal page

 

Blue skies and blooming trees 
blue skies, blooming trees, and a wee bit of snow equal a Colorado Spring... welcome to this week's list of likes  
red stems and white blossoms on this neighborhood bush

Reading

trying to learn French part Deux 


Edenbrooke come back for me to continue reading



Watching On TV 

Murdoch Mysteries (Canada) Wolf Hall (PBS) and back finally, Brokenwood Myssteries (N Z ) 

we found on ACORN a new to us series we LOVE  Darby and Joan   

Fine dining 

Made hot cross buns this weekend, FABulous 



who knew?  Kitchen hacks short video


I like conversation so this is our convo starter this week


where do you do your computer work, or blogging?  For example at the kitchen table like me or on your lap in front of the tv? at an actual desk? Do you use a larger computer or do it from your phone or ipad?  show us a pic if you can, of your set up for blogging. 
I write posts from the kitchen table here. I have a laptop, can't figure out how to use my ipad. I keep a place for morning coffee, and water here, have a new rolling chair (I have shorter legs so need to adjust)  my sketch books and art supplies are always out


so I use them more often. I have a small desk calendar too, to make notes on or see what day it is

I like things in sight to use, and keep more supplies behind me on the kitchen desk.  
Back in the day, I kept things in organizers on my desk top, along with pics from good times, and knew were everything was. Those days we had to take longhand notes on home visits, so pens were very important. I had a secretary to type up official forms I'd written for court/judges, I wrote them longhand and she not only read them but corrected my misspellings! 
I need organization, I get flustered with too much visual clutter now. I feel better when I clear off the piles. 



we are the "pilot" family, pile it here, pile it there, and eventually I put everything away or back in it's container. 
I write on this laptop and am quite a fast typist thank you to the summer class in typing during high school. 
I am not technical so I don't store more than I have to on the computer. Therefore papers are a big challenge to keep organized. 
you'll often find paint and brushes on my desk area


I've loved painting with gouache (opaque watercolor) paint lately... art journal entry
click to enlarge


Farewell to Pope Francis, who believed and worked toward biblical directives to be a good steward for the earth (environment and all creatures) and to accept diversity, and care for all humans. 
quote
"We all have the duty to do good"
 

Please visit these people to see what they liked this week and join us with your everyday likes, let me know if you write a post for me to include
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Saturday, April 19, 2025

creativity this week, landscape, portrait and flower paintings and spring basket/ hexie spiral in quiltmaking

 

welcome to this week's creativity round up. The image above is one of my small journal paintings

I've been working in gouache again this week, it's not an easy medium to control but I love the effect ! 

note: paintings first, and all Sewing next if you're interested in one or the other

I'll start at the beginning, I view this tree every morning out the back door

so I tried to do a simple gouache painting in the journal. 
apparently I don't do simple
I didn't like it at first but like certain areas of it like some paint mixes
Then with the left over paint, did an abstract of just different colors on the palette
at first just color around the page, then not leaving well enough alone I added in posca pen lines
red paint pen on green, black and white pen, until I loved it. My thought was a portrait in center

 I had some paint left over in my lid palette , and not wanting to waste it, started this week's paintings from that. The dried paint looked like a flower to me already so... 


I'm loving my two home made journals, and the washi tape


a few dots of paint, some dots of ink 
After the blossom I wondered where that flower grew so painted a vista next
still had paint left and wanted to try a portrait. It's been a long time since I did one. Audrey Hepburn 
I referenced her image... and although I like the painting it doesn't capture her. 
I think the nose is too narrow, or the lips too large. It's lovely especially the lips but not like her. Please comment if you can help me figure this out? I loved her quote so added it in with ink and pink paint 

Still had paint left on the palette so I tried one of Matisse's painting as reference. I have this in poster form framed poster from National gallery of art in DC, and it hangs in my bedroom. 
you can see how small both paintings are in my journal. Seems like my lack of confidence keeps me from using the whole page. crikey. 

Then the remaining paint palette was just too muddy so I threw it away... and turned to fabric

Quilt Making this week

the rainbow scrap challenge color of the month is RED scraps... I do love hand piecing and english paper piecing so I tried something I saw on a google search for EPP
got set up for thread basting hexies by the TV

It's not sewn together but it's laid out on my felt covered cardboard tray


ready for more sewing by the TV

I was intrigued by the tutorial on pentagon EPP bowls here https://www.mollyandmama.com.au/blog/
So while on a FT sewing session with Cindy, made one using spring/Easter prints
small at 6" or so across


you make 6 for the top and 6 for the backing/underbowl and sew them all together. The inside/ top



funny bunny
the underside pics



I already cut out a larger version using pastel colors and my own dyed fabrics, and plan to embroider them then make a larger bowl... more on that next time! Thanks for visiting


linking with



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Thursday, April 17, 2025

I Like Thursday # 447 Pink blossoms, Easter baskets, portrait painting

blossom season

 click to make the image larger to see the delicate pink of these blossoms, and welcome to this week's list of likes

Delicate in pink petals, strong enough to survive Colorado

listening on audio




I like sewing and liked this video of how to not skew thick seams... a short video

https://youtube.com/shorts/NMWQsCTEaVs?si=EPqzwEWRMyeWE7_i

conversation starter this week, last of Easter prompts



did you get easter baskets as a child? Please describe them, what was in them, did you get them in the morning? After church? Did you make them for your kids  your mate or decorations ? 

I got pretty baskets with candies, or cheap toys, on fake grass, all arranged prettily. The mother put crinkly celophane around the basket, gathered it at the top with a big ribbon bow. 
PEZ dispensers were usually included
It sat on the dining room table til after church.
I LOVE gifts like stockings full of little stuff, and Easter baskets, and yep, I still miss them. 
Often the focal point was a chocolate bunny, one year a sugar egg with a scene in it. I was never a fan of jelly beans but they were pretty in the basket, my favorite was malted milk "eggs" and I couldn't get enough of those!  
and PEEPS were always there. I opened the box, and let them get stale because that made them chewy!

I don't remember the year baskets stopped, but must have been about age 12 or so. 

I like Sewing


This year      https://magpiesmumblings.blogspot.com/had a tutorial for an EPP fabric bowl, 
I made it and will show the whole cute bowl,  with all the scenes, on Saturday
I like painting and am doing it again.... I haven't done portraits for a long time, and I tried painting Audrey Hepburn, this week. I love this quote by her
I don't know where I went wrong with this, but will open discussion with you on Saturday's post. I wanted to really capture her but... well.. I still like the painting

From the archives on my blog, Easter 2019 with Milo
He was cautious of great big bunnies, yet somehow intrigued! 
Love you my beautiful boy
"yes, I want that bunny toy mama!"

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